Polio and Post-Polio Syndrome

Polio (poliomyelitis) is a viral infection that can cause paralysis and, in severe cases, death. Polio was once widespread in India; thanks to massive national immunisation drives, India was certified polio-free by the WHO in 2014 and has remained so. The virus continues to circulate in a few other countries, which is why immunisation here continues. Some polio survivors develop new weakness decades later — called post-polio syndrome.

How polio spreads

• Mostly faecal-oral — infected faeces contaminating food or water
• Also respiratory droplets from an infected person
• The virus multiplies in the intestine, then in a small fraction of cases invades the nervous system
• Most infections are asymptomatic or cause only mild illness

Symptoms

Most infections are silent. When they cause illness:

• Minor illness — fever, sore throat, headache, vomiting, tiredness, muscle aches — resolves in days
• Non-paralytic polio — symptoms plus meningitis-like signs (stiff neck, back pain)
• Paralytic polio — sudden muscle weakness or paralysis, often asymmetric, starting in the legs; in the most severe form, paralysis of the muscles that control breathing

Post-polio syndrome

Decades after a bout of polio (typically 15-40 years later), some survivors develop new symptoms:

• New muscle weakness, often in previously-affected muscles
• Severe fatigue
• Muscle and joint pain
• Breathing and swallowing problems
• Sleep disturbances

Post-polio syndrome progresses slowly and is not a recurrence of the infection. It's managed with rehabilitation, pacing, physiotherapy, mobility aids, and sometimes respiratory support. Specialist neurologists and physiatrists guide care.

Prevention

Vaccination is the only effective prevention:

• Oral polio vaccine (OPV) and inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) are both part of India's routine childhood immunisation
• National immunisation days (Pulse Polio) provide extra doses to all children under 5 at intervals
• Pressure on vaccination coverage in conflict or under-resourced areas must be maintained — reintroduction of the virus remains a theoretical risk as long as any country still has polio
• Travellers to polio-endemic countries may need booster vaccination

The near-elimination of polio is one of modern medicine's greatest public-health successes. Continuing vaccination protects the generations to come.